Concordia Escapes Five-Set Thriller in Salem

The Cavs will return to action on Oct. 6 when it travels to face Multnomah University. Corban will travel to face Evergreen State on Oct. 8 for its next match.

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SALEM, Ore. - In a match that featured two-point differences in four of the five sets, Concordia defeated Corban 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action on Saturday night inside the Jeffers Sports Complex.

With the team’s fifth win in a row, CU improved to 11-6 on the season and 7-2 in CCC action while Corban fell to 6-5 overall and 4-5 in league contests.

Corban claimed a 10-5 lead out of the gate and holding on for a 23-18 lead later on via a kill from Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore./Santiam Christian H.S.) in the first before allowing the visiting Cavaliers back into the set. CU scored five straight points, three off of kills from Clair Thiel (Oak Harbor, Wash./Oak Harbor H.S.), to square the set at 23-23, but the Warriors bunkered down with back-to-back strikes from Chandra Baskoro (Gresham, Ore./Gresham H.S.) and Land to end the opener with the 25-23 win.

The Cavs responded in the second by jumping out to a 12-6 lead. Hitting a match-high .353 and powered by seven kills each from Thiel and Raluca Dinca (Portland, Ore./David Douglas H.S.), the Cavs denied a late rally for a 25-23 win of their own.

Concordia once again double-upped the Warriors with a 20-10 lead late in the third. In a near repeat of the previous set, the Warriors stormed back with a 10-2 run which culminated in an ace from Megan Dees (Tehachapi, Calif./Tehachapi H.S.).

Moments later, Thiel struck for another kill with the assist from Lindsay Mangan (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina H.S.) to boost the Cavs to set point, only to see Corban stall the result with a pair of kills from Baskoro. With the score 24-22, Dinca put an end to the set with her seventh kill of the frame to give CU a 2-1 advantage.

Another hot start from the Cavs almost doomed the Warriors in the fourth. Facing a 10-5 deficit, Corban rallied to tie the set at 16-16 before carrying on for the 25-23 win.

The dramatic fifth set featured four ties and a pair of lead changes. Baskoro lifted Corban to a 5-2 lead while an attack error by the Cavs kept the Warrior buffer to two points with the score 10-8. From that point, CU managed three straight points to claim its first lead since the scoreboard showed 2-1.

CU held match point with the score 14-11 but the Warriors would hold by forcing an attack error and receiving an ace from Bailey Wold (Spokane, Wash./West Valley H.S.). After a CU timeout, the Cavs abruptly terminated the match with the aid of a few quirky bounces.

Going up for the block, Tabbie Smith (Portland, Ore./David Douglas H.S.) was able to keep the ball off the ground where a touch by Cassandra Koering (Woodland, Wash./Woodland H.S.) kept the ball wavering on the net where it eventually fell on the Corban side and off a pair of players for the culminating point.

Dinca led the floor with 27 kills on 70 attempts, hitting .271 overall in the match. Thiel added 17 and Erika Doremus (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap H.S.) 11 to give CU a trio of players in double figures.

Wold edged Baskoro 19-18 for the Corban lead while teammate Bethany Durre snared a match-high 20 digs.

CU’s Mangan registered 47 assists and added 14 digs. Dinca shared the team lead of 19 digs with Aubrie Concannon (Portland, Ore./Rex Putnam H.S.). Dinca went over the 1,000 dig plateau in the match and now stands at 1,008 career kills which ranks seventh in school history. The senior is also closing in on 1,000 career kills. Including tonight’s match, Dinca has 980 career kills which is good for No. 6 on the school’s all-time charts.

Concordia outhit Corban .201 to .199 while the Warriors posted 14 blocks to CU’s eight.

The Cavs will return to action on Oct. 6 when it travels to face Multnomah University. Corban will travel to face Evergreen State on Oct. 8 for its next match.

Concordia - Corban

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